


A Million Dreams

by icyfox22



Series: Tales from Ba Sing State [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:28:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25934401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icyfox22/pseuds/icyfox22
Summary: Soulmates share dreams. This is a known fact. Everyone looks forward to the day they have that first encounter and get to finally share a dream.Sokka's just begun his sophomore year at Ba Sing State. He's helped Katara move in and had the opportunity to meet his sister's soulmate, a freshman named Aang. He's met with some friends and been introduced to plenty of new faces, and finally, officially met his roommate, Zuko. Zuko who seems nice enough, if a bit awkward and rough around the edges.So what's a guy to do, after spending a day interacting with lots of new people, only to fall asleep and finally dream for the firs time?
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Tales from Ba Sing State [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902229
Comments: 39
Kudos: 273





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> And here I am with a brand new project! This one featuring ATLA and the wonderful Zukka! I decided there weren't enough College AUs so I decided to make one my own! This one featuring Zuko and Sokka as roommates as well as a soulmate AU (because why not throw all the tropes out at once?)
> 
> So the way soulmates work in this universe is through dreams.  
> Once a person meets their soulmate, they begin sharing dreams. People DO dream prior to this, however, the dreams are never remembered. Once the connection is made, the soulmates will begin remember their dreams as they become more vivid. Soulmates don't always know who the other person is right away, though instant connection can and do happen. 
> 
> Seems easy enough if you meet them one on one but let's make this more challenging by adding an entire campus worth of new faces. 
> 
> Enjoy!

There’s a lot of back and forth with Katara and his family, but eventually Sokka is able to convince them to let him move in on his own. It’s sophomore year and he doesn’t need them cramming into a tiny dorm room, taking up more space than necessary, okay? Sokka just wants to get to his room, meet his new roommate, and get unpacked. Maybe run to the dining hall and grab some lunch. Or dinner. Whatever meal is happening by the time he gets there. 

Unfortunately, his plans to meet the roomie are thwarted, the grin on his face and ‘hello’ on the tip of his tongue dying out the moment he opens the door. His roomie’s been here if the immaculately made bed, and almost compulsively organized desk is any indication. Only the room is empty so Sokka can only assume the guy is out and about. 

It’s a little discouraging, but Sokka can live with this. Might be better to unpack on his own anyway. He just hopes his roommate isn’t a neat freak considering the neverending mess that is his room back home. There’s going to be a lot of arguments in the future if that’s the case. Hopefully, some sort of compromise can be reached. 

Sokka gets to work unpacking his things and getting his side of the room set up. He’s sure his roommate wouldn’t appreciate him leaving boxes all over the place to unpack later. The text chime on his phone goes off just as he’s placing a poster on the wall. He checks his phone and finds a message from Yue.

She’s asking if he wants to meet up for dinner. Grinning, he texts her back with a time to meet up and which dining hall. In all honesty, he’d been planning on going alone to try and make some new friends. Having dinner with Yue though is something he can’t pass up. She’s likely to be in the music hall for most of the semester so this might be their only chance to meet up before classes start. 

He has an hour until dinner though, and so he gets to work making his bed and organizing his desk. It’s way more work than he’d normally do, but he doesn’t want to make a bad first impression with his roomie… who still hasn’t returned. 

Zuko. He reminds himself. His roommate’s name is Zuko, and he has  _ got _ to stop calling him ‘the roommate’. Sokka just hopes they can be amicable towards each other. The last thing he wants is to be living with another Jet. 

Sokka does his best to make his side of the room as neat and organized as possible, then leaves to meet up with Yue.

The dining hall is packed by the time Sokka and Yue make it inside. He’s hardly surprised. This is the most popular of the three on campus. They wander through the crowd, looking for an empty table and eventually find one in the back near the windows. Sokka promptly slaps his bag down on the surface and they leave to get food. 

A group of what he assumes to be freshmen watch him go with wide eyes and he laughs a little. They always say not to leave stuff unattended at the tables, but he’s long since gotten over  _ that _ fear. Nobody in his year or higher seems to care about such a thing and he certainly would never steal someone’s stuff. If someone took his table, though, he’d be fuming. 

Yue goes for the sushi. Sokka settles with loading his plate up with meat kebabs. Sushi is all well and good, but he spent the entire summer consuming Water Tribe cuisine. No… he’s been looking forward to food from the other nations to try out. He takes a moment to chat with some of the dining hall staff, surprised to find Suki of all people working the line. She introduces him to a few new faces before he needs to return to his dinner date with Yue. 

Suki gives him a playful shove, eyes rolling as he walks away from her station. She knows Sokka isn’t serious about Yue. Not like that at least. Yue is gorgeous, for sure, and at one point, he thought maybe there was something there. That was before she confessed to having met her soulmate. The news crushed him a little but they’ve managed to stay good friends and he’s more than happy with that arrangement. 

Dinner passes with them getting caught up and sharing stories from over the summer. Sokka’s summer was full of fishing and teaching some of the younger kids how to hunt out on the ice. Yue taught piano and singing lessons to children of nobles.They exchange schedules so they can plan to meet up at some point in the future, though Sokka knows it’s likely to fall through given their classes. Still, it’s the thought that counts, and they can always meet up for a study session if needed. 

Suki has long since finished her shift and joined them for a late dinner by the time they're leaving. The pair part ways with Yue so she can head over to the music room. He’s not even sure if the academic buildings are even open, but Yue’s pretty dedicated to her music. Sokka and Suki head back to their dorm to relax before classes start on Tuesday. 

“I heard there’s a new tea shop in town,” Suki says as their conversation drifts away from classes. She’s walking along one of those low walls along the sidewalk that people love to sit on. “We should go check it out some time.” 

“The one that opened over the summer?” Sokka asks and she nods. “Yeah, I think Aang was talking about it earlier. Said the tea there was the best. I’d be down for going.” 

“Bring your roommate so we can all meet him?” Sokka scoffs and rolls his eyes. 

“ _ I _ haven’t even met the guy,” he tells her. 

“Oh…” Suki gets to the end of the wall and jumps down. “Has he not moved in yet?” 

“He moved in before me but he wasn’t there when I arrived,” he answers with a shrug. “Guess he’s just busy… or something.” Only… Sokka vaguely recalls something about Zuko being a transfer student. So… maybe he’s been getting familiar with campus, or making some new friends? He shrugs again. “I’m sure I’ll run into him soon enough since we live together. Maybe he’ll be okay with joining us.” Assuming he isn’t busy with his own stuff. 

“Remind me again why you didn’t just room with Haru?” she asks. Sokka sighs. So… in reality, he and Haru probably would’ve been great roommates. Sokka would’ve done it in a heartbeat but Haru wanted to move off campus and he just wasn’t ready for that. Besides, rooming with a random person just means more opportunity to make new friends, and maybe meet his soulmate, of course. 

“I wanted another year on campus, remember?” Suki hums but still looks unconvinced. She would’ve just moved off campus if she were in his position. Jet would’ve turned anyone off from having a roommate again. Thankfully, Sokka believes in second chances. Also, not everyone is Jet. 

“How’s Katara liking her new place?” Suki asks, and the conversation turns to their small group of friends. 

He invites Suki back to his room which she kindly turns down. Something about needing to finish unpacking. 

Much to Sokka’s surprise, his room is currently occupied. By someone he can only assume is his roommate given the guy’s half-naked appearance. Sokka’s gaze starts first at the towel wrapped around his waist, then follows water droplets up his stupidly toned abs, and obscenely muscular arms to land on his surprised gaze. He feels his face grow warm as they stare silently at each other before Sokka abruptly steps out of the room and shuts the door. 

He stares at the door wondering what the hell he’s doing. This is his room too! They’re going to be living together for the next year, and they sure as hell will be times they see each other half-naked! If he can’t survive this then it’s going to be a long year.

Thankfully, his roommate has gotten dressed in the time he spent outside having a crisis, donning a simple red tunic and pants. Fire Nation, then, Sokka determines, glancing quickly over Zuko’s side. Other than his clothes, nothing else seems to reveal his heritage. Makes Sokka wonder at that but he chooses not to ask. For now at least. He’ll ask when they’ve gotten to know each other better. 

Zuko’s sitting at his desk, headphones on and blaring music loud enough Sokka can hear the lyrics. Okay so… not exactly the  _ best _ first impression, but he wishes he could at least introduce himself properly. Sokka peaks over his shoulder as he moves into the room, curious over what Zuko is furiously scribbling into his book. He must get too close because his companion freezes and then quickly snaps the book shut, turning to glare at the person behind him. The music cuts off suddenly. 

“Can I help you?” Zoku growls. 

“Sorry…” Sokka steps away from him and over to his bed. Zuko’s still watching him and he finally notices the very large and entirely unmistakable  _ scar on his face. _ It looks pretty gnarly and he wonders vaguely if Zuko can even see out of that eye but he wisely chooses not to comment. Instead, he flops onto his bed and says, “I’m Sokka by the way. Nice to meet you officially.”

Zuko hums. There’s a long beat of silence where Sokka thinks the conversation may have ended. He groans and Sokka watches his roommate slide down in his chair, hands on his face. 

“Why am I so  _ bad _ at this?” he hisses under his breath. He’s trying to be discrete but it’s loud enough that Sokka can hear it. Sokka stares at his phone and pretends like he didn’t hear the comment. Zuko mutters something else that he definitely doesn’t hear and then replies, “I’m… uh...Zuko?” 

Sokka snorts. He can’t help it, and he can’t help the tiny laugh that bursts out of him. Zuko frowns, turns back toward his desk, and okay… now Sokka just feels bad. 

“Sorry,” he says, waving a hand in the air. “Didn’t mean to laugh. I just… are you telling me your name or asking?” Zuko huffs. 

“No, I…” A hand brushes through his hair and he sighs again. “I’m just not good with meeting new people…” A beat of silence. “Sorry…” 

“You don’t need to apologize, man,” Sokka tells him, waving the apology off. Zuko turns around again. Sokka gives him a reassuring smile. “I get it. Meeting new people is hard especially when they’re about to spend a whole year crammed in a tiny room together.” The tiniest possible smile Sokka’s ever seen wiggles onto Zuko’s face. It’s gone just a second later. 

“So… uh… what are you studying?” Zuko asks. 

“I haven’t decided on a major yet…” he confesses. “Sort of stuck between a few different options. You?” 

“I’m studying art therapy.” 

“Oh, cool.” Sokka isn’t too sure what to say to that, other than it sounds like a hard major. He’s honestly surprised that Zuko’s studying something so… artsy? Especially considering how… not art-esque his side of the room is. If Sokka had to guess a major, it probably would have been business related or something. Hell, he doesn’t even have any posters on the walls. If it weren’t for his very obvious Fire Nation attire, Sokka’s not even sure he’d know where his roommate was from. Not that it matters, but still... Zuko’s half of the room is as impersonal as they can get. Guy likes his privacy, Sokka supposes. 

He wonders if Zuko’s a firebender.

“What got you into that?” he asks instead, unwilling to pry into that subject just yet. Zuko shrugs. 

“Art really helped me through some… things,” he answers. “So I wanted to use it to help others.” Curiosity makes him want to ask about it but the scar on his face is probably a big indicator of what happened. Also, asking would be rude and Gran-Gran would no doubt scold him for prying into a sensitive subject.

Instead, Sokka directs the conversation to class schedules. They take the time to go over when each of them wake up every day. Surprisingly (or maybe, unsurprisingly) Zuko has a strict wake up schedule of the literal ass crack of dawn. He likes to get an early start to the day regardless of his plans which only means it’ll translate to the weekends as well, much to Sokka’s dismay. Weekends are Sokka’s down days, okay? He likes to stay up late and sleep until noon. 

Zuko swears he’ll be quiet, which Sokka has no reason to not trust so he goes along with it. It won’t be a problem anyways unless Zuko  _ also _ goes to bed early which he reassures he definitely does not. 

Sokka admits he’s pretty messy because it doesn’t hurt to tell the person he’s rooming with. He promises to be as clean as possible though so it doesn’t disrupt anyone; something Zuko is visibly appreciative of. 

At some point, Zuko moves to his own bed and the lights are turned off. Silences between conversations grow longer until both boys eventually fall asleep. 

_ He finds himself swimming deep into the depths of the ocean. Something swims ahead, close enough to make out the shadow but too far to distinguish whatever it is. Still, he finds himself drawn to the creature.  _

_ The water grows colder. _

_ It grows darker.  _

_ Still he swims. _

_ Reaching. _

_ Chasing.  _

_ Trying in vain to catch up to something… something he knows, deep down is important. Whatever’s in front of him is the thing he’s been searching an entire lifetime for yet it eludes him. _

_ Remains too far out of reach until its shadow blends into the darkness of the ocean.  _

_ He finds himself alone. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting chapter 2 a day early though I may switch to Saturdays to make my life easier. Thanks to all the kudos and comments so far! Glad you guys like it. 
> 
> That being said, I DID make some changes to the story so... maybe go reread chapter 1 before you start on this one.  
> Some things to note:  
> -Aang is the avatar still in this story. He's not in school, just living off campus with Katara and Toph.  
> -Bending is a thing and I've decided to make probending a thing in this story because I think it would be cool to explore (no decision yet on whether airbenders are included or not).  
> -I'll get into the history of the Fire Nation over time in the story so just sit tight on that because I know people might wonder about it, but the Airbenders weren't wiped out and the war didn't really happen. 
> 
> If anyone wants to chat you can find me over on [Tumblr](https://princewuuko.tumblr.com/). Would love to gush about ATLA/LOK or this story in general.

Sokka has many thoughts when he wakes up that morning. His dream replays in his head, clear as day as if he’s still experiencing it. Then he thinks,  _ holy shit, I can remember my dream, _ and the world seems to come crashing down on him. 

Somewhere between moving Katara and Aang into their place, then moving into  _ his _ dorm, and getting dinner with Yue and Suki…. Sokka ran into his soulmate. 

Someone on this campus is his soulmate and he has no idea who they might be. 

Groaning, he rolls to his side and discovers an empty bed. It seems Zuko’s up and left already. He’d be surprised he slept through it, but he’s not exactly a light sleeper. Then again, he’s not exactly a heavy sleeper either and Zuko  _ did _ say he would be quiet so as not to disturb him. 

His phone sits next to his pillow, the light blinking with an unread message. Katara wants to meet up for breakfast. He’s not sure why she wants to eat in the dining hall of all places but maybe they just haven’t made it to the market for food yet. It looks like the text was sent an hour ago though. Hopefully they haven’t left yet, or that they’re still there. Thankfully, Katara’s always been quick to respond and twenty minutes later, Sokka’s running out the door, pulling his hair back into its wolf tail. 

He spends the entire short walk over to the dining hall eyeing every person he passes, wondering if one of them is his soulmate. Of course, there’s no way of knowing without asking outright. Not with a dream as vague as his had been. 

So… how is he supposed to find his soulmate? It’s not like he can just recreate the dream himself… he doesn’t have the artistic abilities for something like that. Well… he could certainly try but Katara and Suki always laugh at his paintings. 

He'd ask someone to make the pictures for him but…. Soul dreams are personal… he doesn't want to tell them to just  _ anyone _ . 

Thoughts continue to swirl through his head as he steps into the dining hall and waits to be swiped in. His eyes roam each face he passes, hoping that  _ maybe _ that person had the same dream. 

Aang shouting his name across the hall very quickly pushes the thoughts aside, however. Him, Katara, and Toph have found a table in one of the corners, out of the way from everyone else. Thank the spirits too. Sokka doesn’t really want to deal with all the attention the avatar will doubt draw. As it is, people close by are eyeing Aang suspiciously. 

“Guys,” he says as he slides into his seat across from Toph. His hands slap on the table, startling Katara. “You won’t believe what happened!” 

“Did you meet your soulmate?” Toph asks. Katara and Aang gasp, grins wide as they stare at him across the table. Sokka sputters and scowls at the girl, hands slapping on the table again.

“Toph!” he whines. “Don’t steal my moment!” Toph sofa, waving a hand over her shoulder.

“It’s a new year at school,” she says like she’s not a freshman. Then again, this has been a part of the new school year for their entire lives. As far back as Sokka can remember, the first week is full of students meeting their soulmates. “The dining hall has been filled with people talking about it all morning.” 

“Who are they?” Aang asks and Sokka wilts in his seat. His eyes scan the dining hall wondering if maybe they’re here now. If only his dream hadn’t been so vague…. The total opposite of Katara and Aang. They had the pleasure of meeting one on one and saw each other in their dream that same night. 

No… he just  _ had _ to meet his soulmate on one of the busiest days of the semester and have the world’s vaguest dream… at least he has solace in knowing they also dreamt the same thing. 

“No idea,” he confesses, eyeing the omelette station. His stomach rumbles and he rises from the table. “I’ll be right back.” 

Sokka groans as he steps into line. Of course they have the crappy omelette lady. She’s got to be the most unpleasant person to deal with and is well known for being entirely unfriendly. Still, omelettes are omelettes and the other station is no longer open. This is his only choice. He listens idly to the conversations around him as he loads up his plate with ingredients. 

The girl in front of him asks for scrambled eggs. Omelette lady claims they’re too hard to make and Sokka nearly leaves the line. How on  _ earth _ are scrambled eggs too hard to make? They’re literally what happens when a person messes up all the other egg options! 

He stops and swipes a few komodo sausages on his way back to the table. Oh and an egg custard tart. Aang likes those. 

“That lady is the  _ worst _ ,” Sokka announces the moment he returns to the table. “She refused to make scrambled eggs! Those aren’t even hard to make!” Katara scoffs.

“Tell me about it,” she agrees. “I asked if she could mix some rice in, and she gave me the nastiest look!”

“She’s always like that,” Sokka tells them. “Go to the other station if it’s ever available.” No amount of complaining about that lady has kicked her off the omelette line. He’s tried asking Suki about it but even she doesn’t understand. 

“Enough about omelettes,” Toph snaps. “Tell us about your maybe-soulmate.” 

“Oh yeah!” Aang says, perking up, only for his face to fall. “Did you not see them in the dream?” Sokka shakes his head with a frown, trying to decide if he should tell them the dream or not. They’re his friends though so it probably wouldn’t be  _ that _ awkward but it seems almost too personal to do it. 

“We can’t all be like you two lovebirds, you know,” Toph says, leaning back in her seat. She thankfully refrains from propping her feet on the table. “Some of us have to work to find our soulmates.” 

“You know,” Aang begins, smile returning to his face as if it never left to begin with. “The Air Nomads believe dreams are linked to how open both soulmates are to meeting.” 

“What,” Sokka says, sausage halfway raised to his mouth. Aang shrugs.

“I don’t think there’s any real proof to it,” he says. “But it explains why some connect on the first dream and why it takes longer for others. If a person isn’t really open to it, it’s going to take longer.” 

Huh… that…. That might not be too far of a stretch. So…. Does that mean his soulmate doesn’t  _ want _ to meet him? He frowns at the thought. Who  _ wouldn’t _ want to be his soulmate? Sokka’s a catch in his humble opinion. 

“Maybe it would help if we knew what the dream was about,” Katara suggests. 

“I just…” Sokka huffs, casting a hand in the air as he takes a bite. He takes a moment to chew and swallow before continuing. “I was in the ocean? Swimming towards something…. But I never caught up to it.” He frowns. Does that mean his soulmate would rather run from their inevitable meeting? Is he the only one willing to meet? He groans, head flopping onto the table. “I’m never going to meet them…” 

“Well, it’s only a matter of time before you connect in a dream,” Aang says, trying to reassure him. “It happens eventually.” Sokka sighs and pokes his omelette, appetite suddenly gone. So what if they meet? His soulmate doesn’t even want him. Does  _ he _ even want someone like that? 

Soulmates aren’t strictly romantic though…. They could just be good friends… Sokka would accept it even if it’s not really what he was hoping for. 

“Well if they don’t want me then I don’t want them,” he declares, sitting up. 

“Sokka,” Katara says in that annoying ‘mom’ voice of hers. “You don’t mean that.” 

No. He doesn’t. He’s spent his whole life waiting for this moment. Had hoped that it would be Yue after meeting her. Was disappointed when it wasn’t Suki. Still, he never gave up hoping that the day they met would be as exciting as when Katara and Aang had their first connection. He wants to bring them home to his family and have a huge celebration. 

Instead, he’s going to spend the next semester trying to find a person who wants nothing to do with him. 

“Just because some Air Nomads believe that doesn’t mean it’s true,” Toph points out. Aang huffs, shooting her a disapproving look. Not that she can even see it. Katara's face is like a mirror image, clearly unhappy with the girl's attitude toward Aang's people. Both of them keep quiet though, much to Sokka's relief. He really doesn't want to get stuck in an argument over cultural sensitivities. Top presses on as if nothing happened. “Besides, it was only the first dream. Don’t get so mopey over it.” 

“Just be patient, Sokka,” Katara says. Sokka huffs. Logically, he knows he should just wait it out. Patience is working against him though and he just wants to  _ know _ . Besides, it’s not fair that all his friends met theirs already and now he’s stuck waiting. Well… Toph hasn’t but she doesn’t seem too fussed about it.

“That’s easy for you to say,” he grumbles, picking at his food. 

“We were going to go shopping after this,” Aang says, thankfully changing the subject. “Do you want to come with us?” He perks up a little at the thought of shopping. Some retail therapy might make him feel better. There’s probably some new shops nearby too and there’s that tea shop Suki mentioned. Though she might be upset if he goes without her. 

Also he should probably head over to the pool and check in with his boss. 

“I would love to,” he starts. “But I actually have some things to do around campus, so I’ll pass this time.” 

Conversation from there shifts to the upcoming semester and what classes everyone is looking forward to. Sokka can’t say any specific class stands out to him. He’s just taking gen ed classes right now and getting those requirements out of the way. Hopefully, by the end of the year though he’ll have settled on a major. 

Toph declares her excitement over being able to lick some rocks, and Sokka’s not even sure that’s a thing. What class would that even be? Seems like a strange thing to look forward to in his opinion. Then again, Sokka’s never been particularly invested in rocks. Must be a bending thing.

Katara, ever the over achiever, is already looking to get into prereq and honors courses. Sokka can only roll his eyes at her. He told her to take it easy for the first semester but does she listen? Of course she doesn’t. She just  _ has _ to go and overload her schedule. 

After breakfast, Sokka returns to his room and unsurprisingly finds it empty. It hasn’t even been a full day and he’s already beginning to suspect Zuko will be one of those ghost roommates, only ever appearing to sleep. Sokka’s more than fine with that. Means he’ll have the place to himself more often than not. 

He digs around in his files and pulls out the paperwork he’ll need to lifeguard again then heads off for the pool. 

Pakku is… somewhat sexist. Okay…. Scratch that, he’s super sexist. Won’t let the girls sit on the stand. Insists on having the guys do all the heavy lifting. Hell, Sokka’s convinced the guy wouldn’t even employ girls if he had any say. Sokka doesn’t really care for the guy but lifeguarding pays better than any other campus job and school doesn’t pay for itself. 

Katara had also been interested in lifeguarding up until she received the first email from the guy. He’d said some pretty unsavory things to her and that just about ended any chance of her taking the job. She spent half the summer lecturing Sokka because why on  _ earth _ would he work for that man? 

He is also, unfortunately, the coach of the probending team. Katara just about lost it when she showed up for tryouts. Despite the guy’s feelings towards women, he was more than welcoming to Katara joining the team. Whether that has to do with her wearing Gran-Gran’s betrothal necklace or not is unknown to them. Katara’s a master bender though and more than deserves a spot on the team. 

Sokka wonders who the other starting members are going to be but Katara wasn’t sure the last time they spoke. Apparently, they do separate tryouts for fire and earth benders. Apparently, there is more than one coach as well, which makes sense and Sokka’s not sure why he just assumed there would be one. A waterbender can’t exactly give pointers to a firebender. 

At least the other two don’t have to deal with Pakku’s sexism… well, not until they have their first official practice. 

So yeah, while Sokka knows Pakku is sexist, the pool pays stupidly well so he’s willing to overlook some things. The guy also knows how to run a tight ship too, and work schedules are always out a month in advance. They have monthly team meetings to go over anything and everything and he even helps out with renewing certifications when needed. 

Pakku is far from perfect, but he’s an okay boss and Sokka finds he can live with it. 

Chlorine fills the air as Sokka steps into the locker room. The place is practically sparkling, it’s so clean, but he knows it won’t last for long. Despite how often they clean the showers and locker rooms, they’ll never look as good as the first week of the semester. He walks through the area and exits out onto the pool. 

Sokka finds Pakku in the supply closet taking inventory. 

“Hey, Pakku,” he greets, holding his paperwork up. “Just here to drop this stuff off.” Pakku lowers his clipboard and gives him a small smile. 

“Good to see you again, Sokka,” he responds. “You can just set that on my desk and I’ll take care of it when I’m done here. Oh and there’s a meeting on Friday for returning staff. Don’t be late.” 

“Got it, boss.” Sokka gives a small wave as he steps out of the closet. “See you on Friday.” He walks across the length of the pool and leaves the documents on his desk. 

Sokka heads to the campus center next, hoping to check out whatever new school pride merch they might have. He ends up buying a new bag featuring a design of the school mascot, Boscoe the bear. Because who doesn’t love bags? And this one is fantastic and will hold all his stuff for class!

Happy with his purchase, Sokka goes back to his room and spends the remainder of the day dicking around on his laptop. At some point, he meets up with Suki and the others for dinner. 

Zuko still hasn’t returned by the time he goes to bed.

He tries not to be bothered by that. Tries not to feel worried about some roommate he just met and who he barely knows. 

He can’t help but be concerned though and hopes Zuko comes back soon. 

Eventually, sleep claims him. 

_ He’s running but he doesn't know where he's going. Tonight, the surroundings are constantly shifting. They never stop moving. One moment, he’s in a city and then a forest. At one point, he’s swimming but one thing never changes; he’s running away from something or maybe to it. He can’t be sure who’s chasing who. It’s always close enough that he can feel it but not see it. What is this thing that he’s running from? Why is it chasing him?  _

_ He trips and stumbles across the ground. He’s back in the forest. The trees stretch far above him closing the sky off from this world. It’s dark down here, where no sunlight shines. He looks and finds he’d tripped on a tree root. The trees rustle, giving him the impression of a mocking laughter. They silently watch him stumble through the darkness lost and confused. Where is he and where does he go? How does he get out of here? There are creatures in these woods. They too watch him like the trees watch him. They watch from a distance whispering words of encouragement. Unlike them, he can gain freedom. If only he knew where to go. He could stumble around for hours and when he finally finds this freedom, the scene changes. _

_ He’s in a city now; people walking all over the place oblivious to someone lying on the ground. They don’t care. City people never care; they just simply go about their lives ignoring anything insignificant to them. He gazes around at all the faces, too blurry to truly distinguish any of them. Again, he feels the presence of the being chased. They’re here too, looking for him but in the city he’s harder to find.  _

_ He rises to his feet and turns into the crowd, quickly cutting between people to try and hide amongst them. Something swipes at his shoulder, fingers just a little too out of reach to grab him.  _

_ The feeling of being chased fades and he turns around only to trip on the sidewalk, and fall into darkness.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I promise not every chapter will end with a dream. It's just how this one worked out. This dream in particular is a mash up of my own personal dreams! 
> 
> Also the university they attend is loosely based off my own college and yes, we had an omelette lady and yes, she refused to make someone scrambled eggs once and it blew my mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Updating a day early?! Finally getting a chapter out after.... however many weeks? Guys , I've been hella busy with life and got swept into a creative funk for about a week. 
> 
> Fortunately, I finally managed to get this written and done! 
> 
> Also, I finally figured out how to do hyperlinks here!!! 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr: [avatarnao](https://avatarnao.tumblr.com/)  
> I give story updates on there from time to time and would love to talk to people about ATLA/LOK!

A week.

An entire week has gone by. A week full of dreams of forests and mountains. Dreams of the beach. The ice flows back home. Dreams of some beach he's sure he's never even been to. 

Yet he's no closer to learning anything about his soulmate. 

They remain anonymous, just barely out of his reach no matter how close he might get. 

He sighs, eyes distant as he watches the pool. Splashing fills the air around him, but he's hardly paying attention, something Pally would no doubt scold him for it were he to be caught. Sokka can't find it in him to care. 

Suki sits beside his seat, legs submerged in the water. She's kindly been listening to his rambling for the last hour instead of doing her laps like usual. 

"There's no point in being so impatient," she tells him. He sighs. Logically, he knows she's right. He wishes she wasn't. Wishes soulmates weren't bound through dreams. Wishes they could just take one look and know right away. 

If only it were that easy. 

The first week of classes is usually nothing more than going over syllabi and getting to know classmates. No homework unless your professor is particularly brutal. Since Sokka's elected to take gen ed courses though, this means he's had more than enough time to worry about other things. 

Finding his soulmate has been most prominent, but there's another matter that's competing for his attention.

That matter would be none other than Zuko. Zuko who rises with the sun and comes back long after it has set. Sokka tried, a few days ago, to stay up until he returned. He fell asleep and woke up hours later to his roommate's sleeping form. 

It’s infuriating to say the least. They don’t have to be best friends but Sokka would at least like to know where he’s going and when he’ll be back. What’s he supposed to do if Zuko goes out one night and never returns? What if the police show up? How is he supposed to explain where and when he last saw his roommate? 

He echoes these thoughts to Suki, trying to change the subject. She laughs a little. 

“Maybe he just likes his privacy,” she suggests and yeah, Sokka thought the same thing. 

“Still,” he argues. “I’d at least like to know if he’s planning on coming back or not…” only, what Sokka  _ really _ wants is to be able to go to breakfast together. To get to know each other, but Zuko’s always up and out before he can even invite him anywhere. 

Okay, so he wants to be friends with his roommate. After the Jet fiasco last year, he was really just hoping to have someone he could click with, and the only reason he and Zuko haven’t clicked is because they don’t spend any time together. 

“Well,” Suki says, thoughtfully. “It  _ is _ the weekend. Maybe you can catch him when you get back. Invite him to dinner with us tonight.” Sokka hums in response. It’s not a bad idea. Since it’ll just be him and Suki, Zuko would be able to meet her before getting thrown into the chaos that is Aang, Katara, and Toph. Suki is certainly less overwhelming. He only wishes Yue had been able to join them. The girl is  _ already _ swamped with school work. 

"Maybe," he says noncommittally. There's no telling where Zuko is or what he's even up to right now. Sokka will at least try to bring him along, though, if he's even in the room when he gets back. He says as much to Suki.

She just grins and says, “I’m sure he will be.” 

Zuko’s not in the room when Sokka comes back. He tries not to feel disappointed by this revelation but is also relieved Suki isn’t some sort of witch capable of seeing the future. Oh well. Not much he can do if Zuko isn’t around to invite to dinner. 

Sokka leaves to take a shower. When he comes back, he finds the room finally occupied by his roommate. Zuko doesn’t seem to notice him right away, music blaring through his headphones, and Sokka’s becoming increasingly convinced the guy is  _ trying _ to blow out his ear drums. Then again, he notes, maybe Zuko just can’t hear well out of the ear on the burned side of his face? He’s not one to jump to conclusions but damage that bad had to have a lasting effect on his hearing and eyesight. Which… now that he’s thinking about  _ that _ , maybe Zuko just didn’t see him considering his left is to the door? 

Huh… maybe he should ask about that. See if Zuko maybe wants to switch sides. Or desks. 

For now though, Sokka settles for silently creeping around the room to get dressed. He knows he should probably speak up but the guy is however many songs deep into an art project. Sokka doesn’t want to distract him. Maybe once he’s not busy Sokka will invite him to eat with them. 

Sokka sighs, tugging a shirt over his head and turns around to find a pair of wide golden eyes staring at him. A pencil hangs loose from Zuko’s hand. 

“Uh… Hi?” Sokka says, immediately frowning. This shouldn’t be as awkward as it feels…. Why is it always so awkward??? Why does he feel like he’s intruding on Zuko’s space? He lives here too for spirits’ sake! Zuko blinks and seems to come to his senses, face going red as he quickly looks away. 

“When did you get back?” he asks and Sokka shrugs. 

“Not too long ago,” he replies, moving over to his own desk and taking a seat. “Just got back from the showers.” His fingers drum against the surface of his desk. Sokka sits back in his chair and glances at his laptop. Just as he thinks the conversation has ended, Zuko lets out a frustrated groan. 

“I’m not…” he huffs, face turned away from where Sokka’s sitting. Still, Sokka patiently waits for Zuko to say whatever’s on his mind. If there’s one thing he’s learned in their short time together (and grand total of two-ish interactions), it’s to let the guy work out his thoughts. Prodding him only seems to make Zuko more frustrated. Zuko groans again and says, voice so soft Sokka has to strain to hear him, “I’m just not good with these things…” Zuko glowers at him. “Sorry.” 

“I don’t know what sort of expectations you think I have,” Sokka says, shrugging. “But I like to think I’m pretty down to earth, so…. You can relax a little, you know?” He gestures to their room with a grin. “This is a judgment free zone!” 

Zuko gives him what is perhaps the softest, shyest smile Sokka has ever seen. Sokka feels his face grow warm at how positively  _ endearing _ it is. 

“So…. yeah…” he mutters, turning away from his roommate. Zuko’s still staring at him with that stupid soft smile. Sokka feels his face grow impossibly warmer when he realizes it. He finds himself blurting the first thought to pop into his head. 

“Dinner?” The smile drops. Zuko’s face twists in confusion and Sokka doesn’t think he’s ever felt so mortified as he quickly tries to explain,”Do you want to get dinner with me? I mean…. Not… not like a  _ date _ per say just…. Two bros getting food together because that’s what bros do…” Sokka visibly cringes and shrinks into himself. Zuko’s  _ still staring at him _ . Sokka huffs. 

“No like…” he tries again. “My friends, Suki and Yue, wanted to meet you so I thought maybe you’d want to get dinner with us if you hadn’t already eaten?” Why is he saying that like a question? Tui and La… the guy gives him one cute little grin and he’s falling over himself! Suki’s never going to let him live this down! He deflates in his seat, frowning a little. He opens his mouth to say more when Zuko beats him to the punch. 

“Actually…” Zuko says, and that infuriating smile is back, still small but less hesitant this time around. “That sounds really nice.” 

Sokka realizes in that moment he’s made a grave mistake. How on  _ earth _ is he going to survive a meal with Suki  _ and _ his roommate? 

Spirits take him now because he is  _ dead _ . 

Sokka sincerely regrets inviting Zuko the moment Suki realizes he tagged along. She takes one look at both of their faces and the slyest look works its way across hers. Sokka steadfastly ignores her attempts at silent communication in favor of leading Zuko over to their table. Yue is occupying the table while Suki gets food, music sheets gently held in her grasp. 

“Hi Yue,” Sokka greets and she looks up with a soft smile. He gestures to Zuko. “This is my roommate, Zuko.” 

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Yue says, giving a slight bow of her head. 

“Likewise,” Zuko mutters back, nodding his head. He jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m just going to go get some food.” And moves away from their spot. 

“He seems nice,” Yue comments the moment he’s too far to hear. Sokka shrugs and drops into the closest seat, head resting on the table. 

“He’s not the best at conversation,” he mutters. Which is awful in a sense because Sokka is super social and it sucks having a roommate who’d rather fill the silence with music instead of words. 

“So he’s a little shy,” she says with a shrug. “Give it time. We’ve only been here a week.” Sokka groans. Everyone keeps telling him to be patient. He doesn’t  _ want _ to be patient. Why can’t he meet his soulmate already? Why can’t he and his roommate be at least close to being friends? 

“Cheer up, Sokka,” a voice says behind him and he feels his mood lifting just a little. Suki sits across from him with a grin. “They have seaweed noodles today.” And  _ that _ certainly perks him up. As much fun as eating new foods is, he’s started to miss some good watertribe cuisine. 

He slips out of his seat with a grin and makes a beeline to the noodles. 

By the time Sokka makes it through the line, he discovers, much to his dismay, that there’s none left. They carry the empty tray away before his very eyes and bring out something entirely new. 

He ends up with a plate of pan-fried noodles and crab puffs. Still just as good but also supremely disappointing after getting his hopes up. Whoever took the last of the seaweed noodles better hope they don’t cross paths, otherwise Sokka  _ will _ have words with them. 

Suki’s in the middle of interrogating Zuko by the time Sokka returns with disappointment dinner and a glass of lemonade. The conversation carries on around him, though he pays it no mind. He’s too busy eating delicious food and pouting over not getting any of what he really wanted. 

Sokka sucks in a gasp as his eyes glance over the food on the table and land right on a plate full of those coveted seaweed noodles sitting in front of Zuko. Something lodges itself in his throat, a piece of food going down wrong and Sokka’s suddenly doubled over the table while Suki smacks his back.

His throat burns, eyes watering. 

A cup of water is placed in his hand. 

Suki won’t stop reprimanding him about chewing his food.

None of that matters though because Zuko’s  _ eating the very thing he wanted to have _ . 

“Honestly, Sokka,” Suki grumbles once he’s finally stopped coughing. Half the tables around them are staring in his direction. “You can’t just swallow food whole, you know.” 

“Where’d you get those?” He snaps, tone a little too harsh as he angrily gestures to Zuko’s plate. Zuko somehow manages to look entirely impassive yet indignantly affronted at the same time. Sokka would be impressed if he wasn’t currently being annoyed that his roommate took the last of his food. 

Okay…. Maybe that’s not a fair claim. Zuko just happened to get there before it ran out. Sokka shouldn’t take his anger out on him. He’s not exactly feeling rational right now. 

“Sokka!” Suki hisses. 

“I  _ wanted _ those,” he hisses back. Zuko scoffs and rolls his eyes, pushing the plate toward his roommate. 

“You can have some if you want,” he says. “They gave me too much anyways.” Sokka instantly feels like an asshole. He frowns, slouching back into his seat but grabs the plate and slowly pulls it closer. 

Once he has some noodles on his own plate, he slides Zuko’s back over to him with a muttered, “Thanks.” 

“You know, Zuko,” Suki says, turning her attention back to him. “Yue’s also studying the arts.” Zuko seems to brighten at the information and glances at the quiet girl. She flashes the smallest smile and waves the comment away.

“Oh… no, not like that,” Yue replies, cheeks turning pink. “I’m a  _ music _ major. It’s completely different from art.” 

“My uncle taught me to play the tsungi horn when I was younger,” Zuko tells her. “Though I was never really good at it.” 

“I quite like the piano myself,” Yue says. “Though I find the flute to have a beautiful sound.” 

Sokka quickly tunes out their conversation, though he has to admit. This is the most talkative he’s seen Zuko since they moved in. As much as he complains about being bad at playing instruments, he seems well versed in the different types. 

“Seems to be fitting in just fine,” Suki comments, sliding her chair just a little closer to Sokka. “I knew inviting him would be a good idea.”

“Well it wouldn’t be such a problem if he wasn’t avoiding the room constantly,” he grumbles, though there’s no heat behind the words. In all honesty, Sokka’s glad Zuko agreed to join them. 

“Maybe you just suck at talking to people,” she says, tone teasing. They both know it’s not true. Sokka can make friends with just about anyone with little to no effort. Something mischievous glints in her eyes as she turned back to the conversation. “Hey, Zuko?” 

Whatever Zuko had been saying drops the moment Suki addresses him. Yue takes one look at Suki and smirks, seemingly catching on to whatever her roommate has planned. Dread begins to wiggle its way through Sokka, though he’s not entirely sure why.

Not until Suki begins talking, that is. 

“Have you ever seen any of Sokka’s painting?” Sokka sucks in a breath, nearly choking on his food again. Suki, the traitor, won’t stop staring at him with smug satisfaction. He glares because he refuses to admit that maybe he’s pouting a little. 

“There’s nothing wrong with my paintings,” he announces before angrily scooping up some noodles, and shoving them into his mouth. Suki, still grinning, pulls out her phone and he’s realized the mistake he’s just made. “Suki….” 

“I’m just sharing, Sokka,” she says innocently. Sokka huffs, wanting desperately to take the phone from her but knowing better than to try. Suki could easily flip him over the table without batting an eye. He hears the telltale click of her phone unlocking and then she’s showing the screen to Zuko. 

Zuko stares at her phone for a painfully long amount of time. Eventually, he leans away from her and says, “It’s very… creative.” Sokka groans and his head hits the table with a resounding thud. 

Great…. Now Suki has someone to tease him for his art. It’s not his fault he doesn’t have natural artistic talent, okay? He’s always been the ideas person, not the artsy person…. 

“Sokka’s pretty good at haikus though,” Yue kindly points out. Bless that girl’s soul. He has no idea what he did to deserve Yue in his life but she is the kindest of all his friends. 

“Thank you,” he says.

“You might get the syllable structure right but they’re hardly poetic,” Suki teases. 

“Poems can be hard to write,” Zuko offers. “Especially something as structured as a haiku.” Pride and happiness swell within Sokka. So much so that he swears he could cry. Zuko barely even knows him, yet here he is, defending his roommate. 

“See?” Sokka says. “Zuko gets it!” 

“ _ Zuko’s _ never been to one of your poetry readings,” Suki retorts. 

“Remember ‘rhymes with okka’?” Yue says then and heat immediately blooms across Sokka’s face. He groans, sinking into his chair as the two girls share in his embarrassment. Zuko looks positively delighted by this bit of information but kindly doesn’t not ask for an explanation. 

Suki doesn’t seem to get the hint, though. That or she just doesn’t care and wants to make this dinner as embarrassing as possible for Sokka. 

She proceeds to launch into the tale of the last poetry event they attended. 

Sokka sincerely wishes the floor would eat him. 

Sokka learns a lot about Zuko in the two hours they spend in the dining hall together. 

Zuko was born and raised in the capital of the Fire Nation. He has a younger sister but they aren’t very close and don’t talk much; unlike Sokka and Katara. Zuko doesn’t say much else about his family, effortlessly avoiding the topic of his parents all together. 

When he was thirteen, Zuko moved to Ba Sing Se to live with his uncle and has been in the city ever since. Zuko spends about twenty minutes regaling them with poorly told stories of his uncle’s antics, one of which involves a missing pai sho tile. 

Zuko, Sokka also learns, tells the worst jokes. They swing wildly from poorly delivered punch lines to the sort of terrible joke Sokka just knows his dad would tell.

Sokka finds it stupidly endearing regardless. Apparently everything Zuko does is endearing now…. When did that even become a thing? He frowns at the thought, unable to stop the feeling of guilt washing over him. 

Somewhere on campus, he has a soulmate waiting to meet him. Yet here he is, getting giddy over his roommate’s bad jokes and cute smiles. Is that technically cheating? Even though he hasn’t met his soulmate yet? No… that’s silly. Just because Zuko makes him laugh and he, objectively, has a cute smile doesn’t mean he wants to go out with him! 

Besides, Zuko’s probably met his soulmate already. They most certainly aren’t him. Sokka would know if they were. 

“Sokka?” 

Sokka most definitely does not jump at the sound of his name. He most definitely is not staring round the table with wide eyes because he’s completely tuned the conversation out entirely. Crap…. What were they even talking about? 

“Uh….” he says, intelligently. He gives Suki a sheepish grin and shrugs. “Can you repeat the question?” And, spirits, he  _ hopes _ she was asking him a question. Suki sighs, giving him one of those looks reserved for people dumb enough to try training a polar bear pup. 

“Thinking about your soulmate?” she teases, and Sokka most  _ definitely _ doesn’t blush. 

“ _ No! _ ” he replies way too fast. Yue giggles into her hand. 

“We were going to a party off campus tonight,” Yue kindly fills him in. “Did you want to come?” 

“Don’t you have some upper ring kid to tutor tomorrow?” Sokka asks, and she shrugs. 

“This is my only free weekend for a while,” she says. “And I want to spend it with my friends before I get  _ too _ busy.” And Sokka wishes he could go. He really,  _ truly _ wants to go. Only….

“I can’t…” he grumbles. “I told Pakku I’d help train the new lifeguards tomorrow and need to be up early for it.” 

“Zuko?” Suki asks. 

“Parties aren’t really my thing…” he mumbles. “Um… also, I have practice in the morning… so…” He gives a helpless shrug. Suki huffs and sits back in her seat, arms crossed. 

“Well if you two aren’t perfect roommates…” Suki grumbles. 

“What is  _ that _ supposed to mean?!” Sokka snaps, and she laughs. 

“You know. Most people our age would be out partying  _ and  _ getting up at the crack of dawn for work,” she tells him. 

“Oh no,” he protests. “I know what a night out with Suki and Yue involves, and I refuse to train new lifeguards while viciously hungover!” 

“It’s not our fault you’re a lightweight,” Yue teases and Sokka’s gasps, hands slapping down on the table. 

“I am  _ not _ a lightweight!” And oh, was that the wrong thing to say. Sokka sees the challenge glinting in Suki’s eyes the moment he speaks. Knows he will either have to go with them now to back down and prove her point. 

Instead, Sokka pushes away from the table and gathers up his things. He refuses to rise to the bait. 

“Thank you for meeting us for dinner, ladies,” he says, pushing his chair back in. “Zuko and I must take our leave now. We have super secret roommate bonding to attend to.” Zuko, though confused, has the presence of mind not to question his statement. 

“It was nice meeting you both,” Zuko mutters, rising from his own seat. He gives them each a short bow before gathering his own dishes, and heading to the dish return. 

“Next time,” Sokka promises.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Suki replies, as he gives Yue a quick goodbye then follows after Zuko. 

The walk back to their room is full of companionable silence. 

“Thank you,” Zuko mutters once they’re back in their room. If Sokka had to guess, he’d say Zuko looks far more relaxed than he’s been since the move in. Zuko glances from his desk to Sokka, then back again. He rubs the back of his head. “For inviting me…. It was fun.” And that shy smile is back. Sokka finds himself smiling back. 

“Me too,” he says, grabbing his laptop and jumping into bed. “Maybe we can do it again sometime soon?” Zuko glances at the calendar on his desk, the days full and color coded with his schedule. 

“Is tomorrow okay?” he asks hesitantly. 

“Sure,” Sokka replies because while he may not have his schedule meticulously written down, he knows he’ll be free for dinner. He grins, patting the spot next to him. “Do you want to watch something with me? I got all the latest movers.” 

Zuko hesitates for all of a second before removing his shoes and climbing onto the bed. 

They bicker over what to watch for twenty minutes before agreeing to pick one mover each. 

They get halfway through the second movie before falling asleep on Sokka’s bed together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be.... uh.... eventually? I'm honestly not too sure... trying to write my own book rn and life is super busy for me, but it WILL happen!
> 
> Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've given up any semblance of an update schedule for this story. So have the story today! I've been working on this damn chapter for like.... the past week or so. This is longest chapter I have so far, clocking in at just over 7k words. 
> 
> Just a couple notes:  
> -this chapter is written in a slightly different format and I have no plans of returning to it any time soon.  
> -I've changed the rating on this story for future events to take place.
> 
> Side note: Please don't read this chapter and try to replicate anything contained within. Boys are stupid when they have nothing better to do and Sokka/Zuko are not an exception to that rule. 
> 
> Thank as always to all the kudos/comments I've received. I've been in a bit of a writing slump lately so they've really helped lift my spirit. I really appreciate it!  
> You can find me on Tumblr: [avatarnao](https://avatarnao.tumblr.com/)  
> 

**Monday**

“My own  _ nephew! _ Can you believe it?” 

“Iroh’s in rare form today,” Suki comments, leaning closer to Sokka so they can speak quietly. Sokka huffs out a laugh and he can’t help but agree. Their professor paces back and forth at the front of the lecture all, ranting and raving about his nephew’s latest antics. “What’s got him riled up today?” 

“He said tea was just hot leaf water,” Sokka fills her in, because Suki is consistently fifteen minutes late every class. It probably has something to do with her insane schedule and a class before this that’s on the opposite end of campus. He knows she must sprint to get to this class as on time as possible. 

To be fair, his nephew is  _ technically _ right. Not that Sokka would ever voice that outloud and to their professor. He’s pretty sure he’d fail immediately and be kicked out of class for the rest of the semester. 

This class is only an elective and he’s taking it pass/fail but still… 

Suki has that look on her face saying she agrees with his nephew but is wisely choosing to remain silent. 

“Um… Professor?” someone chimes in from the front row. Iroh stops mid rant and turns to the student with a patient smile. “Not that this isn’t a good story but… what does this have to do with different types of plants?” 

Professor Iroh stares at the student for a painfully long moment before rocking back on his heels with a laugh. He smacks his forward and moves over to his laptop to change to the next slide. 

“Not all tea is made from the  _ leaves _ of a plant,” he explains. On the screen is an image of two flowers. “The white dragon bush is known for producing a tea so delicious it’s heartbreaking. It requires the use of the flower  _ and _ the leaves. They grow all over the eastern part of the Earth Kingdom, but be careful not to mistake the white jade bush for the white dragon bush for it is highly poisonous.” 

Iroh gestures to the images of nearly identical flowers. “The one on the left is the white dragon and the one on the right is the white jade…” He pauses, squinting at the slide, and humming thoughtfully. “Or perhaps it’s the other way around…” 

Sokka groans, sinking into his seat with a frown. Of course their professor can’t even tell the difference on a subject he’s supposedly an expert in…. 

“We have a saying for those plants on Kyoshi Island,” Suki comments. Her pen taps against the desk in thought as Iroh mutters to himself. “Delicious and rare is ruby red, but eat the white flower and you’ll be dead.” Sokka snorts. 

“ _ That’s _ what you guys came up with?” he teases, though he makes a note of the saying. Never know what it might come in handy. 

“It was part of the warriors’ survival training,” she tells him. 

“No matter!” Iroh suddenly declares. “The plant is exceptionally rare so it’s unlikely for you to encounter it out in nature. If you do, however, accidentally consume the poisonous one, the antidote lies within the bacui berry.” He pauses again, thinking. “Or was it the maka’ole berry?” 

Sokka groans again, sinking back into his seat. 

Maybe he should’ve signed up for a different class….

**Tuesday**

Sokka’s nursing what is guaranteed to be a migraine come morning as he steps up to Katara’s place and gives a firm knock.The door slides open and he’s greeted with the wide-eyed gaze of Aang’s pet lemur. 

“Hi, Momo,” he greets, frowning a little in confusion. Why is Momo answering the door? When did Momo even figure out  _ how _ to open the door? Isn’t going out the window easier for the creature? “Are Aang and Katara here?” 

Momo just blinks at him, chitters something, then swoops further into the house. Sokka follows him inside. He can hear the very muffled but very distinct yelling that is his sister’s voice. Her words may be indecipherable but Sokka’s been on the receiving end of that tone, and he’s not about to disturb  _ that _ rant. 

Instead, Sokka makes himself comfortable on the couch and turns the TV, idly flipping through channels for something to watch. Eventually, the yelling dies down, and Toph shuffles out of her room to join him on the couch. 

“Do I even want to know what’s going on?” he asks her and she shrugs. 

“Her and Sparky got into an argument at practice today,” Toph replies. 

“Sparky?” Sokka mutters before the rest of her response clicks. “Wait…  _ you’re _ on the team too? Why am I just now finding out about this?” 

“They just announced who the starting benders would be, and today was our first day practicing together.” Oh… he supposes that makes sense… though why didn’t Katara say anything about Toph being on the team? Then again, they haven’t had much time for sibling bonding lately. They’ve both been kind of busy.... 

A frustrated sigh comes from the hall, and Sokka twists around to find Katara and Aang stepping into the room. Katara levels Toph with a disappointed frown. 

“I  _ told _ you not to put your feet on the table, Toph,” she snaps coming to a stop beside the couch. Her hands fall to her waist. “You’re getting it dirty.” 

Sokka groans, head falling into his hand as the girls begin arguing over how clean their home should be. He came here to spend time with his sister and friends, not to listen to them argue. A flash of orange slides into his peripheral and Aang leans into his line of sight. 

“Hey, Sokka,” he greets. His grin falls as he takes his friend in. “Are you okay?” 

“Just a headache,” Sokka mutters, and Aang brightens. 

“Oh! Do you want some medicine?” 

There is nothing Sokka would love more than something to curb his headache. He eagerly follows Aang down the hall and away from the growing argument behind them. 

“Have you been sleeping okay?” Aang asks as they enter an obscenely large bathroom. Sokka sits down on the toilet, taking in a space large enough to comfortably fit all four of them with room to spare. 

“Midterms are coming up,” Sokka mumbles, shrugging. “So about as well as any student preparing for midterms.” Not to mention he’s been in the library every night until midnight trying to get a term paper done by Thursday. It’s mostly been Suki lecturing him for spending hours browsing the internet instead of researching or Zuko laughing at his horrible doodles. Sokka would be offended over the art student’s teasing but he’s just happy his roommate has decided to join their study sessions. 

Logically, he knows he needs to start the paper, but the paper is nothing more than an in-depth analysis of  _ Love Amongst the Dragons _ . He’s totally got that in the bag. There’s barely any research that needs to be done for it anyways, but Suki did spend a good forty-five minutes last night lecturing him on waiting until the last minute to get work done. 

It’s not Sokka’s fault that he’s a master procrastinator… or that Zuko decided to join them and distract him with animal videos for hours on end.

Then there was that one night Zuko talked him into watching the mover based on the play and spent the whole time viciously tearing every detail apart. Sokka has no idea what the guy’s doing studying art when he should be a film critic. Zuko’s running commentary alone had Sokka in tears from laughing so hard. They’d had to pause at one point so Sokka could collect himself. 

Okay... so maybe he’s been goofing off more than working but his paper is due on Thursday and that’s… two day away. He’s got plenty of time to work on it. 

Sokka’s so lost in thought he doesn’t even realize Aang is speaking until pills are being put in front of his face. He blinks at Aang’s hand. Aang gives him a wide smile as he takes the medicine and downs it in one go. 

“What was the question?” he asks. 

“I was just wondering how your classes were going,” Aang says, not the least bit bothered over Sokka’s lack of attention. “Katara’s been spending a lot of time in her study lately, I guess for the same reason as you.” He shrugs. “Not that I really know what it’s like going to school.” 

“Trust me,” Sokka tells him, rising from his seat. They begin making their way back to the girls. “I would take world adventures and experiences over reading about them in books.” 

Unfortunately, Katara and Toph are far from ending their argument. If anything, Sokka notes, they seem to be winding up to really get into it. Top’s since moved off the couch, squaring up to Katara with a glare. She jabs a hard finger into Katara’s chest.

“It’s not  _ his _ fault you moved right into his blindspot,” Toph snaps. Katara scoffs. Toph presses on before she can offer a rebuttal. “He was perfectly lined up to take the shot and you got in his way! Of course, he was going to hit you!” 

“What,” Sokka snaps. Beside him, Aang sighs with the sort of resignation of one who’s heard this argument far too many times. He probably has, if Sokka’s being honest. This sounds like something Katara wouldn’t be able to let go of. Sokka frowns and glances at Aang, silently demanding an explanation. 

“Nobody got hurt,” Aang says. “He managed to stop before Katara was actually hit but…” He frowns. “She’s still pretty upset about it.” 

“He’s lucky we weren’t bending,” Katara snaps, rounding on Aang and Sokka with a frown of her own. “I could’ve gotten seriously hurt.”

“We’re  _ bending _ , Katara,” Toph growls. “Any one of us could get hurt by accident.” 

“Then someone with better control should be on the team,” Katara growls back. 

“If he lacked control, he would’ve  _ hit _ you,” Toph shouts, arms flying in the air. Aang groans as Katara turns back around and glares at Toph. He gives Sokka a pleading look and Sokka can’t help but feel bad. Sokka thought  _ his _ headache was bad. He’s willing to bet money Aang has the mother of all migraines brewing. 

Sokka misses whatever Katara says, too lost in excuses to get him and Aang out of the house for a few hours. Toph’s retort, however, he hears clear as day. 

“Wow,” she says, voiced tinged with barely contained fury. “Maybe you forgot, Katara, but I’m blind too. Does that mean I shouldn’t be on the team?” 

Katara recoils as if she’s been slapped. Silence descends over the group of friends. Sokka spares a glance at Aang who’s watching the girls with shocked disappointment. Well… this is not what he expected when he agreed to meet his friends for a night together. Sokka sucks in a breath and steps forward, prepared to play the role of reasonable older sibling. 

“I don’t really know the whole story,” he begins. “But from what Toph told me, it sounds like you just started working together.” Katara levels him with a frown, looking as if she wants to argue but remaining quiet for the time being. Sokka will take it over her, interrupting him with some outrageous accusation. He presses on. “I think you just need to give it time and make an effort to work as a team.”

“Sokka’s right,” Aang says then, moving to stand next to his friend. “Nobody expects you guys to be perfect right away.” 

Katara looks like she wants to argue but something in Aang’s gaze stops her. She huffs and stalks off towards her room. Toph drops back onto the couch with an angry scoff, bare feet slapping against the table. 

“I’m sorry, Sokka…” Aang apologizes and why is Aang apologizing? None of this is his fault. “I know you just wanted to hang out and came over to all…” his hand gestures to where Katara once stood. “This…” 

“Katara just needs some time to cool down,” Sokka replies. “Why don’t the three of us go pick up some dinner. Maybe she’ll be calmer when we get back.” 

Toph leaps off the couch as Aang disappears to let Katara know they’re leaving. He comes back a few minutes later looking concerned but otherwise unbothered by his roommates’ argument. 

They head off towards a local cafe. 

Katara apologizes to Toph when they return. 

They spend the rest of the night playing games and watching random shows on TV. 

Sokka’s headache is long gone by the time he heads home for the night, and he finds himself more relaxed than he’s been in over a week. He grins at the thought as he makes his way back to campus, tired and ready to sleep. 

**Wednesday**

“Before everyone goes for the day,” Iroh begins an actual minute before class is set to end. The class collectively groans but settles down for whatever he has to say next. From what Sokka can tell, the general consensus seems to be that Iroh’s a good guy. Strange teacher but good guy nonetheless. 

Smiling to himself, Iroh begins handing out flyers to the front row, saying, “You may not know this, but I run a small tea shop just off campus. The Jasmine Dragon,” and his eyes positively sparkle with pride. “We’re having a special event for all my students this Saturday. Bring you friends for some free tea and a break from studying.” 

“Well that’s convenient,” Suki mutters as a stack of flyers comes into her possession. She takes one and passes the rest back, studying the paper in her hand. A grin spreads across her face. “This is the tea shop I was telling you about.” 

“I suppose it makes sense that the professor teaching tea history owns and runs the most popular tea shop in Ba Sing Se,” Sokka comments, handing off his own stack of flyers. He doesn’t take one. There’s no need if Suki has one herself. 

“We should get the gang together and go,” she says as the class finally begins packing up to leave. 

“I think Yue’s busy this weekend,” Sokka points out. She mentioned something the other day about preparing for a recital. Though maybe that was last week and he’s finally at that point in the semester where days blur together… “But Aang, Katara, and Toph might want to come?” 

“And Zuko.” 

“I can ask him…” he mutters, uncertain. Somehow Zuko strikes him as more of a coffee kind of person. He definitely gives off those ‘starving artist who’s been up for a week straight on a project due at midnight and in need of a caffeine fix’ vibes. Maybe he’d want to come and meet some more of Sokka’s friends though? Or is it too presumptuous that the guy doesn’t have friends of his own? In his defense, Sokka’s never seen him with anyone else or even mention knowing other people. 

Sokka frowns at the thought, immediately feeling guilty. Just because the guy is quiet doesn’t mean he has no friends…. He really shouldn’t be making that sort of assumption… 

Which… maybe he’s just busy hanging out with them or he has work or something. 

“The answer will always be ‘no’ if you never ask,” Suki teases, and Sokka huffs a laugh. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he replies. “I’ll ask him when I see him later.” They draw to a stop where the walkway diverges, both of them needing to go in opposite directions for their next classes. Something glints in Suki’s gaze as she turns towards him. Sokka has no idea what the look is meant to mean, but he can feel his defenses rising almost instantly.

“You know, Sokka,” she begins, tone hesitant. She glances in the direction of her class before continuing. “I think Zuko really likes spending time with you… and I think maybe you like his company too.” 

“Well… yeah,” he replies, somewhat confused. “He’s my friend. We have fun together.” Suki’s brows furrow, mouth twisting as if frustrated he’s not getting what she’s trying to say. “What is this about?” 

“You just…” she starts, actually hesitating now. Her gaze remains averted, looking everywhere but at him. It’s… a little uncomfortable seeing confident Suki suddenly becoming nervous. “You haven’t mentioned your soulmate lately is all…” 

Oh… he… he supposes he hasn’t…. But that’s not because of Zuko. He’s been busy with classes and term papers and… and work! Sure, the dreams are still there but… life and classes have been holding his attention. 

“I’ve just been busy,” he mutters, feeling no conviction behind the worlds but unsure as to why. Sokka finds himself looking in the direction of his next classes as he says, “I’m not sure what Zuko has to do with my soulmate… besides… I didn’t think you’d want to hear anymore about it. It’s not like anything has changed since the dreams started. I still don’t know who they are.” 

“Yeah but… Zuko starts spending time with you and you suddenly stop talking about them all together,” she points out. “Don’t you think that might mean something?” Something akin to guilt twists uncomfortably in Sokka’s gut. He’s not… Zuko isn’t some sort of replacement… that’s not fair to him  _ or _ his soulmate… besides, he and Zuko aren’t romantically involved. 

There’s nothing going on between them other than friendship. 

“I need to get to class,” he announces, suddenly unable or willing to continue this line of thought. Suki calls after him as he walks away to his next class. He ignores her, mind swimming with thoughts and implications of his growing friendship with Zuko. 

The thoughts swirl through his mind for the rest of the day, digging into his mind and refusing to leave. 

He’s not… Zuko’s just his  _ friend _ .

There’s nothing more going on between them. 

They hang out sure… study together when they have time. Get together for lunch if their schedules happen to line up. 

Watch movers at the end of a long day…. Occasionally fall asleep on each other’s beds…. 

Sokka huffs, shaking his head of those thoughts. So what if they do all those things? It’s  _ normal _ for friends to do that… and it’s normal for roommates to spend time together. 

He has a soulmate for spirits’ sake! Zuko does too! 

There’s nothing going on between them! 

“Sokka?” He jumps, head whipping up from the book he’s been mindlessly staring at to find Zuko standing by the table. Zuko shifts where he’s standing, gaze concerned as he looks his friend over. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, I…” Sokka frowns and shuts his book. “Actually… Do you think we could head back to the dorm? I don’t want to study in the library today.” 

“Um… sure,” he replies, and patiently waits while Sokka packs up. 

Neither of them speak until they’re outside the library. 

“Sorry…” Sokka says, sighing. “Suki just brought something up and it’s been on my mind all day…” 

“Oh…” Zuko says, fingers playing with the strap of his bag. “Do you want to talk about it?” Sokka shrugs because he honestly doesn’t know. For all the time they’ve spent together, neither of them has so much as mentioned a soulmate. Would it be too personal for him to bring up? Come to think of it… what  _ are  _ the Fire Nation’s customs when it comes to soulmates? From what Sokka knows, they tend to be a bit more reserved about traditions compared to the other nations. 

Would he be somehow crossing a line to talk about it to Zuko? 

Would Zuko even care? He’s been living in the Earth Kingdom for awhile now. Surely, he’s been privy to conversations about soulmates at this point. 

“It’s about my soulmate,” Sokka blurts before he can overthink this further. Beside him, Zuko tenses. Sokka immediately regrets saying anything. “Sorry… We don’t have to talk about this if you’re not comfortable.” 

“No,” Zuko says almost as quickly as Sokka had. He clears his throat. “No, I… it’s okay, if you want to talk about them. I don’t mind.” Sokka sighs, grateful that Zuko’s willing to listen but reluctant because maybe he really doesn’t want to talk about it… 

“You know… I’ve spent my whole life waiting for the day I would meet my soulmate,” Sokka begins, somewhat forlorn. He gazes up at what little of the stars he can see through the light pollution. “Did you know my sister’s soulmate is the avatar?” He laughs a little. “Yeah… they had an almost instant connection. No guesswork with them.” 

Sokka spares a glance at Zuko to find him listening, though there’s a tightness to his gaze. 

“I was a little jealous at first, you know?” he continues. “It wasn’t until this year that I made the connection with mine… only, this campus is huge and there’s so many students here…” He frowns, troubled. “I have no idea who they even are…” 

His mouth snaps shut, annoyance flaring within him. If he’s being honest, being with Zuko has been a great distraction and that makes him feel guilty. Makes him feel like he’s somehow cheating on his own soulmate. 

“Sorry…” Sokka apologizes when Zuko offers up no words of wisdom. “I just… feel like I’m being ungrateful. Everyone keeps telling me to be patient, but they’ve already met their soulmates, and today… Suki, she-” He turns to Zuko, eyes wide and heart racing. Zuko watches him back, patiently waiting for him to keep speaking. Unassuming. Not judging. Just… patiently listening to his complaints. 

Would Zuko even care if Sokka told him what Suki said? 

“You know,” Zuko begins, thoughtfully. “My uncle used to say ‘waiting is like tea, and when you put the time into waiting, the tea will be perfect’... wait, no…” Sokka sputters, hand clamping down on his mouth as his shoulders begin to shake uncontrollably. Zuko frowns, face turning pink. His arms cross, shoulders rising as he hunches in on himself. 

“It sounds better coming from my uncle…” he grumbles. 

“I’m sure it does,” Sokka replies, gaining control of his laughter. He sighs, feeling an odd mix of happy and sad. The frown returns. “Suki just made me feel bad because I hadn’t brought up my soulmate lately…” 

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t know who mine is either.” 

“Actually… it does,” he says, grinning. “Are you having the dreams?” 

“Um… yeah… since move-in.” Oh wow…. What a strange coincidence that is. Sokka laughs a little. 

“Yeah, same,” he replies. “But I saw so many different people that day and no way of really knowing who they might be.” 

“This is my first year on campus,” Zuko tells him. “So everyone in the dorms was new to me.” 

“We should take bets to see who finds their first,” Sokka jokes. Zuko tenses. His face goes carefully blank, closing himself off completely. It’s such a strange transformation, the way Zuko seems to build his walls up and shut people out. 

The friendly atmosphere between them freezes. 

“I…” Zuko frowns, the troubled look in his golden gaze the only indication of his inner turmoil. He sighs and brushes a hand through his hair. “I don’t….” Sokka sighs. 

“No…” he says. “You don’t have to explain yourself if you don’t want to.” Sokka’s honestly surprised by how much he means it. Zuko doesn’t have to tell him anything he’s not comfortable divulging. It’s not any of his business. Zuko can tell him when he’s ready if he chooses. 

“I just don’t know if I’m ready to meet them yet,” he mumbles. He huffs out a wry sort of laugh and when he turns to meet Sokka’s gaze, his eyes are swimming with unshed tears. “Nobody wants a soulmate as broken as I am.” 

Zuko angrily wipes at his face and picks up his pace. Sokka has to jog to catch up to him. His heart aches for his roommate. He might not know the whole story, and, really, it’s not any of his business whether he knows or not. 

“Zuko, wait,” he says, grabbing onto his roommate’s shoulder. Zuko flinches, twisting out of his grasp as if he’s been burned. His hand slaps Sokka’s away. Sokka presses on, undeterred. “That’s not true!” Zuko opens his mouth to protest. “No, listen!” His mouth snaps shut, eyes wide in surprise. 

“We may not know each other well,” Sokka says, determined to cheer his friend up. “But I’d hardly consider you broken. Sure… you might have a history and who doesn’t have  _ some _ baggage, but you’re a nice guy. Kind. Thoughtful. Smart. You’re far more creative that any person I’ve ever known or met! Maybe you’re a little quiet, but there’s a gentleness underneath the sarcasm. Anyone would be lucky to have you for a soulmate.” 

_ He  _ wishes Zuko was his soulmate. Sokka blinks, feeling all his fight flee at the realization. Oh… is this what Suki meant earlier? What does that even mean for him and his soulmate? 

Zuko scoffs, derailing any thoughts he might be having. 

“Nobody wants to wake up to see such a hideous scar every day,” he says. His hand reaches up to brush against the marred flesh. Sokka watches the movement with a frown, wishing for the first time ever that it wouldn’t be rude to ask. He might not know what happened, but he has enough sense to know they aren’t close enough to ask about it. 

“There’s nothing wrong with your face, Zuko,” Sokka tells him, looking away from his withering glare. He waves away whatever protest Zuko might have had. “No. Listen. I get that the scar is maybe a touchy subject, but you aren’t ugly, and I know your soulmate’s going to love waking up next to you every day. So… don’t count yourself so short. Don’t let that be the reason you don’t meet them.” 

Zuko’s face is entirely red when Sokka dares look at him again. He can feel the heat in his own face and is thankful for his darker complexion. Zuko bites his lip and looks down the path they were walking on. At some point they both stopped, but Sokka can’t say for sure when that happened; both of them being too wrapped up in talk to notice. 

“Thank you, Sokka,” he mumbles as they resume their trek back to the dorms. He glances at his friend out of the corner of his eyes. “For what it’s worth, I think anybody would be lucky to be your soulmate too.” 

_ Yeah _ , Sokka thinks, grinning,  _ I think so too. _

**Thursday**

Sokka’s just about to hit ‘send’ on his paper when the power goes out. 

The power goes out five minutes before Sokka’s supposed to submit his paper. 

There’s no power on campus and Sokka can’t submit the paper he just finished minutes before the deadline. 

He stares at his screen. At the wifi signal in the corner indicating there’s no connection. 

There’s no connection because the power went out. 

Behind him Zuko lets out a groan of anguish. It’s echoed throughout the suddenly dark dorm. 

“That was my  _ midterm _ ,” he says, dismayed, and Sokka cringes. It’s bad enough that he can’t submit his paper but that’s all on him. He’s the one who waited until the last minute to submit it. 

“Do you want me to text my sister?” Sokka offers as the thought occurs to him. “She lives off campus so you might be able to finish it at her place.”

“I don’t know if it’ll let me back in…” Zuko mumbles, casting the room in darkness as he shuts his laptop. Sokka’s laptop is the only thing lighting their room now, the screen displaying a message of no internet connection. He frowns, glancing outside to find even the streetlights are out. 

“What are we supposed to do now?” he asks, idly watching people mill about outside. 

“We could make shadow puppets?” Zuko suggests, pulling a set of candles out of his desk drawer. Sokka stares at the candles wondering distantly why he has a whole drawer full of them. Also, is he being serious about the shadow puppets? Somehow, he imagines Zuko’s terrible at making shadow puppets. Then again… he is an art student. Maybe he can make something crazy with his hands.

“You just… keep a drawer full of candles, huh?” he notes instead. 

“I use them for meditating.” 

“Oh..” Sokka says as Zuko begins placing candles around the room. “So like… scented candles then?” It shouldn’t matter, really, what kind of candles they are or why Zuko has them. Once they’re lit he can shut his laptop down. It’s a good thing he has those candles because Sokka’s laptop has shit battery life after all these years and it won’t last much longer on its charge. 

“Some of them are scented,” Zuko explains, placing the final candles in its spot. “But it’s more of a breathing exercise for firebenders.” 

“Makes sense,” Sokka replies, watching as Zuko begins lighting the candles with his bare hands. He blinks, taking a moment to process what he’s seeing, and then his eyes go wide. “Wait… _you’re_ _a firebender_?!” Zuko laughs a little, lighting the final candle and allowing Sokka to shut his laptop. 

“I guess it just never came up,” he says, shrugging. “And it’s not like you ever asked… so….” He stands in the center of the room, watching Sokka helplessly. 

“Fair point.” Sokka eyes the candle closest to him. “Can you do any cool tricks?” He’s always trying to get Katara to do something fun with her bending, like how Aang has his air scooter thing, but she always gets crabby about it. Then she lectures him about how sacred bending is and how it shouldn’t be used for childish things. Which… is funny considering she does probending…. 

“I know some,” Zuko says sheepishly, snapping him out of his train of thought. “But there’s not enough room here to show you.” Sokka frowns, excitement fleeing him as quickly as it came. Aang’s the only person he’s met so far capable of firebending only… he doesn’t know enough yet to show off, and Katara’s never been any help in that department either. Toph recreated a perfect replica of Ba Sing Se once, right down to the citizens, but she can only do so much with rocks. 

Sokka would much prefer to see some firebending tricks. They sound far more interesting than anything he’s seen so far. 

“Oh!” Zuko says, face lighting up as if he’s just had a thought. “I might know something we can do.” Sokka watches with interest as he returns to his desk. He pulls a bottle out of a drawer and asks, “Have you ever wished you could firebend?” Sokka’s immediately on board with whatever Zuko has planned. 

“Yes!” In truth, he always wondered what waterbending was like. Mostly because waterbenders are far more common than firebenders in the Southern Water Tribe. He’ll take whatever he can get, though. 

“Ok, so this was a really common, uh… game? Back in the Fire Nation,” Zuko explains, dragging his chair closer to Sokka. He holds up the bottle in his hand and Sokka squints at the label, trying to read it in their limited light. “It’s hand sanitizer.” 

“What kind of game is this?” he asks, eyeing the bottle skeptically. What kind of games do they play in the Fire Nation that involves hand sanitizer of all things? He gingerly takes the bottle and snaps the cap off. 

“I’m not really sure of all the rules. It was something more common with non-benders, but…” Zuko takes the bottle and squirts a liberal amount onto Sokka’s desk. He spreads it out evenly across the surface before  _ lighting it on fire. _ Sokka sucks in a breath, eyeing the fire with alarm. 

If Zuko wasn’t a firebender, he’d be concerned they were about to burn down their dorm. He’s fairly calm though for someone who just lit their  _ roommate’s desk on fire _ . Zuko gestures to the flames, flaring blue from the combination of chemicals in the hand sanitizer. 

“And then you just…. Swipe the flames up with your hand,” he finishes. 

“ _ That’s _ your idea of fun in the Fire Nation?” Okay… Sokka knows, logically, that he agreed to whatever nonsense Zuko had in mind. He did not realize that meant possibly lighting himself on fire. Zuko visibly wilts at his statement, frowning as he puts the small fire out. 

“Sorry…” he mumbles, and Sokka feels his heart break at how crestfallen he sounds. 

“I’m not exactly immune to fire, Zuko,” he points out weakly. 

“And you think  _ I am _ ?” He’s glowering at Sokka now, golden gaze intense enough to make Sokka squirm. There’s something in those words that strike deep. A hidden meaning that has Sokka staring at the scar on his face, wondering once again what the story behind it is. He wants to ask. Wants so badly to know, but refrains because it’s rude to pry and Zuko should tell him whenever he’s ready to (if he’s ever ready to). 

Zuko huffs, shifting in his seat and says, “I wouldn’t suggest something if I thought you would get hurt, you know.” 

“So it’s safe then?” Zuko shrugs as if he has no idea how safe it really is. “That’s… not very encouraging…” 

“Well I’ve never had a reason to do this,” Zuko comments, which… fair. “But it was really popular with non-benders growing up and I can put it out before anything bad happens.” And when Zuko puts it like that Sokka can’t see a reason  _ not _ to try. 

Which is precisely how Sokka ends up where he is approximately ten minutes later, nursing a nasty looking burn on the inside of his wrist. He pulls the compress away from the spot, hiss as it rubs against tender flesh. A washcloth is probably too rough for something like this but it’s all they had. 

He frowns at the mark. Katara’s never going to stop lecturing him on this… especially when she finds out he got medical attention without telling her. What he wouldn’t give for her healing right about now… 

Sadly, he can not and will not get her involved. The last thing he needs is her blaming Zuko for this and he’s not about to subject his roommate to her neverending grudges. Besides… Zuko’s a firebender. Surely he knows better than anyone how to treat burns. 

The door clicks open and said roommate steps back into the room. Regret and guilt roll off him in waves as he steps over to Sokka to inspect the burn. He places an unlabelled bottle on the desk. 

“Let this air dry for a bit,” Zuko mumbles, apology lacing his voice. He gestures to the bottle. “Then put some of that on. It’s a salve to help the burn. My uncle dropped it off for me.” Oh so that explains where he disappeared to for twenty minutes. He flashes Zuko a grin. Zuko gives him a sheepish look then turns away. 

“Do I need to bandage it?” Sokka asks, trying to break the silence. 

“Um…” Zuko spares the mark a glance but doesn’t meet Sokka’s eyes. “You might want to before bed so it doesn’t rub all night.” 

Sokka scowls. Zuko’s making that face of his again. The one Sokka has quickly realized means he feels bad and wants to apologize but also feels guilty because he’s been apologizing for the past hour. 

“Stop beating yourself up over it,” he says and Zuko flinches, finally meeting his eye. “Accidents happen, you know? It’s not your fault.” 

“Can I at least like… take you out for tea or something? To make up for it?” 

“If that’ll make you feel better then sure,” Sokka responds with a grin, entirely touched by the offer. Oh… right… he and his friends had plans this weekend. “Actually…” he begins, feeling somewhat bad that he nearly forgot to invite Zuko. “We were going to go to this new place off campus on Saturday if you wanted to come with? You could always treat me to tea there?” And Zuko’s looking apologetic again. 

“I have work on Saturday,” he confesses. Well… that’s…. disappointing…. His disappointment must be reading on his face because Zuko quickly adds, “I’ll be around Sunday, though, if you wanted?” 

“Sure,” Sokka says, grin returning to his face. Excitement courses through him at the idea of just them going out for tea. Below that, is once more guilt, over being excited about spending the day with someone not his soulmate. They’re just going as friends though. Sokka knows this…. Zuko’s not interested in him like that anyways. 

Sokka shakes himself of the thought and says, “Sunday sounds nice.”

**Friday**

Suki notices because of course she does. She stares pointedly at the bandage carefully wrapped around his wrist and says, “What happened there?” 

“Uh…” he says, heat rising to his face. He still hasn’t figured out what to tell everyone else. The truth would be a good idea but he’s not sure how the others might feel knowing it was Zuko’s idea. Then again…. Sokka did go along with it… which just makes him feel stupid. Toph will  _ absolutely _ laugh her ass off over it. 

He’s never been very good at lying to Suki though…. 

“I… burned myself last night….” he admits. Around them the dining hall’s filled with conversation. Most of it seems to be about last night’s sudden power outage. So far all his professors have extended any deadlines affected by the outage. He hopes maybe Zuko’s professor put an extension on that exam. Would suck if he failed over something out of his control…

“And what exactly were you doing that involved fire?” she asks. 

“Lighting candles?” 

“You were lighting candles and burned yourself bad enough you needed to bandage it.” 

“Did you know Zuko was a firebender?” he asks because he can’t help it, and keeping secrets from Suki is just downright impossible. Girl can sniff out a secret like a shirshu. 

“You know…” she says thoughtfully. “That would make a lot of sense…” Suki laughs a little then, eyes glinting with a sense of sudden knowledge as she teasingly says, “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to play with fire?” 

“In my defense, I was told it would be safe.” And even that sounds weak in his ears. Suki just stares at him with that sort of disappointed look he just  _ knows _ Katara would be giving him if she were to find out. 

“Katara’s going to kill you,” she points out.

“ _ Katara _ won’t as long as you don’t tell her.” It’s not any of her business anyways. If he wants to bond with his roommate through stupid dangerous activities then that’s his prerogative. 

“Oh,  _ I _ don’t have to tell her anything. She’s going to find out when you show up tomorrow for tea with that bandage on your wrist.” Sokka stares with mounting horror. He… he really hadn’t considered that last night. She’s  _ bound _ to notice and when she does she’s going to ask about it. 

He groans, sliding down in his seat as he pokes at his food which has long since gone cold. They’ve been so wrapped up in the conversation that neither of them have finished lunch. Well… Suki seems to be mostly done so… he’s barely eaten and a quick glance at the clock has him sucking in a breath. 

“ _ Shit, _ ” he hisses, hastily throwing his bag over his shoulder and collecting everything. “I need to get to class.” 

He gives her a parting wave before fleeing to dump his food and get to class on time. 

He grabs some fruit on his way out. 

**Saturday**

Katara absolutely notices the mark on the wrist when Sokka and Suki go over to her place in the morning. He left it unwrapped hoping that it would just blend into his already dark skin to absolute failure. 

“He and Zuko were playing with candles the other night,” Suki gleefully tells her. She thankfully leaves out the part where he’s a firebender. He’s not sure he can handle that revelation just yet. 

“ _ Zuko? _ ” Katara snaps, giving him a curious look. Toph barks out a laugh as they make their way down the road to the Jasmine Dragon. 

“My roommate?” Sokka offers, frowning at the girl.

“Oh this is going to be great,” Toph cheers, refusing to reveal whatever hidden knowledge she’s keeping secret. 

“Why were you playing with candles?” Katara asks, choosing to ignore Toph’s laughter. Suki won’t stop shooting the earthbender looks like she’s trying to sort through clues. 

“The power went out,” he tells her. “Didn’t you hear about it?” Aang sidles up to his side, gently taking his hand and inspecting the mark. He runs a finger over it and Sokka flinches. “It’s still sensitive…” 

“That’s an odd spot for lighting candles,” Aang comments. Sokka stiffens and yanks his arm away with a frown. Katara’s giving him that disappointed mom look now. He hates that look. 

“Sokka-”

“Oh look,” he says loud enough to cut her off. “Is that the Jasmine Dragon?” Sure enough the building comes into view and with it, the long line of students also looking to check the place out. He wilts a little at the prospect of being subjected to Katara’s torment while they wait. 

Katara, thankfully, drops the subject with the unspoken promise of revisiting it later. Sokka just hopes he can escape before she’s able to corner him.

Fortunately, the line seems to move quickly and soon they find themselves stepping up to be seated. 

Several things happen then as they’re led to an open table. Katara sucks in a breath, stopping short as she looks around the shop. 

“ _ You, _ ” she hisses, face twisting with contempt. Everyone stops, turning back to follow her line of sight and… 

“ _ Zuko? _ ” Sokka squawks because…  _ this _ is the job he disappears off to? Zuko stands by a table, eyes wide like a fox antelope caught in its tracks as he stares at Katara. “Wait…” Sokka turns to his sister. “You  _ know _ him?” He can feel the pieces beginning to connect but one piece remains just out of reach. Toph’s cackling is followed by Suki’s snort of laughter as she finally connects the dots. 

“Zuko!” Aang greets, bouncing over to Sokka’s statue of a roommate. His approach seems to knock Zuko out of his shock. And how does  _ Aang _ know Zuko? 

“Hey, genius,” Toph says, suddenly at Sokka’s side. The slap on his back is hard enough to rock him forward. “I didn’t know your roommate was a firebender!” 

A strange disconnect happens in Sokka’s brain then, as the two separate people are suddenly jammed together into one entity. 

Sokka becomes painfully aware that Zuko, his roommate,  _ is also _ the firebending teammate of Katara and Toph. 

He groans, secretly wishing Toph could just open the earth and let it swallow him whole. 

Today is going to be a long day… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a massive pain to write, folks.
> 
> I can't begin to tell you how hard it was to write Katara/Toph bitching about Zuko without dropping his name in front of Sokka. 
> 
> Why didn't Katara know? Well... maybe we'll find out in the next chapter. 
> 
> Also, I just wanted to address Zuko's scar real quick. Does he have it in this story? Absolutely. I would never remove something that is part of a character's identity. Why has nobody mentioned it? 1. Sokka notices it when they first meet, and it's mentioned in passing in the previous chapter. 2. Nobody's asked him about it because I find it hella rude to ask complete strangers such personal questions. If/When Zuko is ready, he will tell whoever he's comfortable telling. 3. Literally nobody in the show ever seems to visibly react to it so it's unlikely to happen when meeting him for the first time here.
> 
> Next chapter will come whenever I get it done because I've abandoned my schedule entirely.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not midnight where I live yet so I'm technically fulfilling my promise of updating in December. Thank you so much to everyone for the words of encouragement, they made me so happy. Unfortunately, I failed horribly at NaNo this year, and then the Holidays happened (and sooo many bdays to celebrate). My life is just super busy right now.
> 
> But here is the new chapter finally. This one is told exclusively in Zuko's POV which was a huge pain to write. Please don't expect any future chapters in his POV, I'd like this to be primarily Sokka. I'm not overly fond of this chapter and it was a struggle to write and get out so I apologize if it's not great.
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr: [avatarnao](https://avatarnao.tumblr.com/)  
> 

After the initial shock seems to wear off, Suki and Aang manage to wrangle Katara, Sokka, and Toph into their seats. Toph can’t seem to stop laughing and Sokka won’t stop staring at Zuko like he’s grown a second head. Katara won’t stop glaring. Aang seems to be halfheartedly trying to talk her out of committing murder in broad daylight. 

Zuko wouldn’t mind any of this so much. In fact, he’d be completely okay with ignoring their presence while he works. If only Jin hadn’t sat them at the only open table left in his section. Now he has to talk to them and interact with everyone and Sokka  _ still won’t stop staring at him. _

He disappears into the safety of the kitchen, if only to have a moment to himself. Unfortunately, his uncle never seems to leave the room, busy making tea and treats for everyone. Zuko huffs and stalks past his uncle to the back door. Iroh’s worried inquiry goes ignored as the door slams shut behind him. 

Out behind the teashop, away from customers and his uncle’s prying questions, he can actually think a little. So… Sokka, his roommate, is apparently the same Sokka Aang mentioned in the few times he came to practice with Katara. He’s not sure if he should feel guilty for not picking up on the names… then again, he also didn’t want to assume everyone from the Southern Water Tribe knew each other… or were related. Sokka could’ve been a common name and maybe that’s just how he justified it. 

Only Sokka and Katara are related and Katara hates his guts. Zuko presses his back against the wall and slides to the ground with a groan. Of course she would hate him, and he doesn’t exactly blame her but… Sokka’s never said anything about his sister. He’s definitely never mentioned being friends with the  _ avatar _ of all people. 

…

_ Has _ Sokka ever mentioned knowing the avatar? No… no, he’s sure he’d remember something like that. 

Why doesn’t Sokka hate him for nearly hitting his sister? Surely, she told him about that… but Toph is also their friend apparently. Maybe she vouched for him? No… that’s dumb. Why would she do that? 

And then he just… walked away…. Shit… why did he just walk away? What if they complain about him being rude? Uncle doesn’t need that sort of negativity…. 

No… that’s stupid. They definitely won’t complain to Uncle of all people. Besides, the tea is already free to students. 

Zuko blinks, frowning. How… how  _ does _ Sokka know about this event? Wasn’t it only meant for his uncle’s students? 

“Oh,  _ Agni, _ ” he hisses, eyes going wide. Does that mean Sokka’s taking his uncle’s class? No wonder Sokka was giving him funny looks… wait, no… maybe he doesn’t know they’re related yet. Maybe Sokka isn’t even in his class. It could just as easily be Toph or Katara or Suki…. Only… what if they’re  _ all _ taking the class together? 

He jumps to his feet at the thought. If none of them know, they sure as fuck are about to find out. Especially if Uncle decides to venture over to the table. Which he most likely will the moment someone tells him the avatar is visiting. 

The door swings open just as he steps up to it, smacking him in the face. 

“Oh, nephew,” he hears his uncle say. “ _ There _ you are.” Zuko glowers at the man, rubbing his cheek. The smile on Uncle’s face drops. “What happened to you?” 

“Nothing…” he grumbles. “Did you need something?” Uncle hums thoughtfully, perking up as he seems to remember what he came outside for.

“Oh, yes,” he replies. “I’ve been told the avatar is joining us today. You must come and meet him!” Zuko hesitates. He hesitates because the avatar is hanging out at the exact table he’s trying to will out of existence. Maybe he can just force himself to throw up and go home for the day. That would probably be rude though and he can’t do that to his uncle after everything the man’s done for him. 

Zuko reluctantly follows his uncle back inside. They pause in the kitchen to load up a couple trays with food and tea, then head out to the dining area. 

Toph’s howling laughter greets them as they step out of the kitchen. Sokka’s hunch over with his face pressed into the table. Zuko eyes him, curious as to what transpired but remains quiet. Uncle perks up the moment he takes in everyone sitting with Aang. 

“Suki! Sokka! What a pleasure to see you here!” Uncle greets. Zuko swallows a groan. Of course those two would be in the class. He quietly sets the tray of food on the table and begins helping Uncle serve tea. Suki’s watching him with a sort of smug amusement as he places a cup in front of her. 

“Is he your uncle?” she asks, mirth glinting in her eyes. Zuko stares at her for a long moment and he just  _ knows _ . Suki must know too because she smiles softly and says, “Thank you for the hot leaf juice.” 

“ _ Uncle _ ,” he hisses, turning on the man. Said uncle just gives him a sheepish look as Zuko presses on. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone!” That seems to knock Sokka out of whatever dilemma he was having. He slams his hands on the table and looks between Zuko and his professor like they’ve both grown an extra head. Okay so maybe Sokka’s crisis is still ongoing. 

“ _ You’re _ his nephew?” Sokka snaps, voice loud enough for the whole shop to hear. 

“Honestly, Sokka,” Katara scoffs. “Do you know  _ anything _ about the person you’re living with?” 

“ _ Me? _ ” Sokka retorts, turning on his sister. “How did you  _ not _ know Zuko was my roommate? It’s not exactly a common name!” Zuko wants to argue that he’s standing right here, but decides against it as the siblings launch into a passionate argument. Instead he continues giving everyone tea. He wants to argue that he probably should have known too considering Katara’s brought Sokka up at least once. He didn’t want to just assume though, that everyone from the Southern Water Tribe was related…. Or that they knew each other. 

“Oh yes,” Aang is saying by the time Zuko gets around to him. The avatar and his uncle are deeply engrossed in a conversation of their own. Aang takes the offered cup with a grateful smile as he says, “Katara’s my soulmate so I’m staying here with her while she’s in school and travelling when I need to.” 

Once all the tea is passed out, Zuko quickly makes his exit under the guise of tending to another table. He spends approximately ten minutes checking on other customers and filling orders when Toph loudly calls him back over. Doing his best to conceal a grimace, Zuko drags himself back over to the one table he’s been avoiding as much as possible. 

Toph’s giving him a shit-eating grin by the time he comes to a stop at the table. 

“Can I help you with anything?” he asks. Toph pulls out an empty seat and gives it a pat.

“Iroh says you’re on break now, so have a seat.” He stares at the seat, then at Toph. Back to the seat, and then at everyone else around the table. Katara still looks like she wants to murder him but that’s not exactly new. 

“Um…” He glances over toward the kitchen. “Let me just check with him first…” And leaves before anyone (Toph) can force him into the seat. 

Sure enough, his uncle insists he go spend the afternoon with his friends. Zuko reluctantly agrees to the break, unable to stop the feelings of guilt from weighing on him. He’s supposed to be working today, not having tea with practical strangers. Well… Sokka’s not a stranger. He’s probably the closest to friend out of any of them, and Toph and Katara are his teammates… and Aang would probably be sad if Zuko didn’t consider him a friend. Not that Aang would say anything about it, but he’d be sad deep down and that just makes Zuko feel even more guilty. Okay, and Suki is definitely a sort of friend. They spend enough time together during meals and study sessions for it to count, right? 

Now that he’s thinking about it, Katara might be the only questionable one at the table. 

Giving himself over to his fate, Zuko returns to the table and takes a tentative seat between Toph and Aang. Katara sits next to Aang and next to her is Sokka, then Suki. Sokka slouches in his seat, stirring his tea with a pout on his face. Zuko gives Suki a questioning look but she just smiles and shakes her head. 

“Sokka’s just upset because he didn’t know you were such a talented bender,” Aang explains easily. He leans closer, shielding his mouth with his hand. “You know, because roommates don’t keep secrets or whatever.” Zuko frowns. He wants to argue that he’s not really that good. Wants to tell them he knows of others who are far more talented than he’ll ever be. His sister is a prodigy for Agni’s sake.

“I guess it just never came up,” he says instead. “But it’s only because I learned from the best.” 

“Well it just so happens that Aang needs a firebending master to teach him,” Katara chimes in. “So if you could point us in their direction that would be great.” 

“I don’t think he’s taking new students right now…” 

“Oh,” Katara scoffs. “So he’ll teach you but he’s too good to teach the Avatar?” 

“It’s okay, Katara,” Aang replies. “I’ve already spoken with Zuko’s teacher and he’s a little busy at the moment.” He perks up. “In fact, he suggested someone who should be just as good. I’m going to see him in the morning.” 

“When did this happen?” Katara asks. 

“Just a little while ago, when Iroh was over here he-” 

“ _ Iroh _ taught you?” Katara turns her attention back to Zuko with a strange look on her face. Sokka scoffs, waving her question away.

“Of course he did,” Sokka says. “Iroh is his uncle. Why wouldn’t he teach Zuko?” 

“He runs a  _ teashop, _ " Katara points out.  Toph snorts, and sits up in her seat.

“Don’t you know anything?” she asks. “Or are you too low class for something like that?” Katara gasps and slams her hands down on the table. All the dishes on the table rattle dangerously. Zuko quickly reaches into the center and stops the teapot from falling over. His uncle would be upset if such a valuable set were to break. Zuko doesn’t even know why he uses such fragile tea sets to begin with, and at this point there’s no point in asking. Only he’s turning back into the conversation and Toph’s still talking. 

“Iroh is very well respected in the upper crusts of society,” she says. “He’s from a very well respected family in the Fire Nation. You might have heard of them in fact since he-” Something jumps into Zuko’s throat, and he’s leaping from the table before he knows it. Anxiety spikes through him, fear sending sparks of electricity into his fingertips. 

“Toph,” he snaps, voice pitched high and far too tight to come off as anything less than tension. “I think my uncle wanted to see you in the kitchen.” He shoves the teapot toward her. “Would you mind getting us a refill while you’re there too?” 

“Fine.” She snatches the teapot from his hand, and pulls him close. “But just so you know, I can tell when people are lying.” He watches her stomp away from the table, trying in vain to steady his racing heart. 

“Uh… Zuko?” 

“Sorry,” he snaps, turning back to everyone else. “My uncle just doesn’t like talking about his family is all.” 

“Unless it’s about you, right?” Suki teases, grabbing a cookie off a plate. 

“Yeah,” he agrees. “We’re very close.” 

“You should hear the way he talks about you in class,” Sokka adds, grinning a little. 

“He’s very proud of you, that’s for sure,” Suki agrees. Zuko finds himself smiling a little despite the near slip. 

“I don’t know where I’d be without him,” he confesses, because Uncle helped him through the lowest lows of his life. He was there for Zuko when… everything happened, and he was there for him afterward too. 

Eventually, Toph returns with fresh tea and treats for everyone. The conversation turns to lighter things, and even Katara loosens up enough to joke around with Zuko. 

By the end, everyone’s leaving with smiles on their faces and Zuko’s returning to work feeling like he’s gotten closer to calling their small group friends. 

Despite the rocky start, Zuko would have to say this ended up being a good day. 

A  _ really _ good day.

_ There’s heat. Heat and fire everywhere. A roaring sound rushes through his ears. He flinches as something flies towards him.  _

_ Pain, blinding, sharp, and hot stabs through him. It burns at his flesh, eats away at his mind. He distantly hears the sound of screaming and belatedly realizes it’s him.  _

_ The burning fades but the pain doesn’t.  _

_ It consumes him until darkness washes over him.  _

_ The screaming never stops. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Next chapter will be out... eventually. I'm still working on my own novel so I'm trying to juggle that and this at the same time along with life stuff. I promise it won't take forever though!
> 
> Until next time!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm putting this on an every two weeks schedule so I can work on my other projects without them running into the same deadline. 
> 
> If anyone wants to give a follow, I'm princewuuko over on tumblr (someday I shall figure out how to do a proper link).
> 
> Until next time!


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